It’s a time to dress up, enjoy the parade of children throughout the neighborhood and maybe even throw a party.

But Americans are scaling back this year. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans plan to be more frugal this year when it comes to Halloween spending.

That doesn’t mean you have to forgo the whole shebang. Here are some festive and economical ideas:

• Pick a theme and stick with it: Do you want cute or scary? Pumpkins, ghosts and such can be cute, but Frankenstein, spiders and brains are scary, so decide on a theme and stick with it.

• A great place to snag decorations is at any discount store like Deal$ or Dollar Tree. For instance, you can find an assortment of serving dishes for $1.

• Buy plastic spiders (get a bag for $1) and let your imagination run wild. Here are a few ideas: Freeze spiders in ice cubes and serve in drinks; buy or make cupcakes, draw a web on the frosting, then add a spider; slip spiders on wine glass stems (or other stemware); use fishing wire to hang spiders over doorways (like spider mistletoe).

• Spread fake spider webs around the house to add ambiance.

• Float gummy worms in glasses and have gummy worms hanging off dips.

• Rim glasses with red gel icing so the cup looks like it’s bleeding.

• Fill a glove with popcorn and candy corn for take-home gifts.

Mood lighting

Lighting is key when entertaining. Try one of these easy decorations, inspired by some on Pinterest.com.

• Buy slightly clear white or orange plastic drinking cups. Turn cups upside down and use a Sharpie marker to draw pumpkin faces, ghosts, witches or Frankenstein’s monster. Place an LED light under each cup and watch them glow.

You can do the same with old milk jugs. Rinse them out, draw a face and cut a hole in the bottom for the LED light.

• Take an old four-sided cheese grater, spray it orange and allow it to dry. Draw a pumpkin face on it and tie green ribbon around the handle for a stem. You can also apply some green leaves. Put an LED candle under the grater and it becomes a beautiful decoration.